One of the problems experienced by individuals in trying to keep accurate records is the problem of capturing and storing data into a computer spreadsheet program or some other type of computer program. This problem is increased by the retail stores that sell a wide variety of goods under one roof. For example, large stores may sell groceries, pharmaceuticals, clothing, sporting equipment, furniture, etc. The result is that even when an individual has retained the credit card receipt or entered the total amount in a check book register at such a store, a single purchase may include a number of categories for an individual's budget. At present, there are two ways of handling this problem. The first is to retain the sales receipt and manually enter each item on the sales receipt into the proper category of a spreadsheet program. This is a laborious and error prone method. The end result is that the vast majority of people do not maintain accurate personal or business records for their transactions. The reason is simply that a single trip to a large store will result in the purchase of items that may fall into five or more different categories of a budget requiring a large amount of manual processing.
The second way of handling this problem is through the use of a smart card. The smart card stores transaction data that is received from a point of sale (POS) terminal (also referred to as a cash register) at the conclusion of a transaction at the POS terminal. A personal computer later retrieves these categories and associated information from the smart card and inserts the information into a spreadsheet. The problem with the use of a smart card is that it requires a special input/output device on the POS terminal as well as the personal computer. Further, the smart card represents a sizable investment and is yet another card that must be carried in an individual's billfold or purse.
With respect to groceries, many individuals wish to maintain an inventory of the groceries that they have in their home. This has become possible through the advent of special computers for the kitchen which include a grocery code scanner. When an individual removes a can of peas from the storage cabinet, they scan this can of peas before using it, and the computer automatically subtracts the can of peas from the grocery inventory. Unfortunately, at the present time the only way to add items to the inventory is to manually scan each item before storing in a storage cabinet. Most individuals after grocery shopping are simply anxious to put away the items and be done with what in general is an unpleasant task. Hence, very few people are able to maintain an accurate inventory.